Marketing Room 101

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by brand strategy consultant and author, Ulli Appelbaum. Having worked in the world of brand and advertising for over 30 years, in countries as far and wide as Cameroon, Hungary and the U.S.A, and in agencies as creatively renowned as Fallon, BBDO and Leo Burnett, Ulli has gained a uniquely deep and varied understanding of how brands actually grow. Today...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by ⁠Pete Markey⁠ , Chief Communications & Marketing Officer at Nottingham University, a marketer with a track record for leading many of the UK’s best known brands including Boots, TSB, Post Office, Aviva and British Gas. On top of the day job, Pete is a fellow of the Marketing Society and the Chartered Institute of Marketing, as well as a former ISBA...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Kate Waters, Director of Client Strategy & Planning at ITV and a leading voice on the effectiveness of TV advertising. Kate has spent over 20 years at ITV and works with many of the UK’s biggest advertisers, helping them understand how to get the most out of TV in an increasingly complex media landscape. She is widely recognised for her work champi...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by ⁠Tom Roach⁠ , VP of Brand Strategy at ⁠Jellyfish⁠ and one of the biggest names in creative effectiveness. In his 25 years in the industry, Tom has held top positions in leading agencies like BBH, adam&eveDDB and Leo Burnett, leading strategy for brands including the BBC, McDonald’s, Sainsbury’s, Lloyds Bank, KFC and Weetabix, whilst picking up Gold...

In this episode, host ⁠Ben Norman⁠ is joined by ⁠Marketing Architects⁠ Chief Marketing Officer, host of ⁠The Marketing Architects Podcast⁠ , Triathlete, former Junior Olympics competitor, and all-round marketing effectiveness fiend, ⁠Elena Jasper⁠ . Elena is best known for championing TV’s role in the modern media mix, whilst challenging outdated and inaccurate thinking that overlooks the potentia...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Steve Harrison, the 18x Cannes Lions-winning copywriter, creative director, and author, described by Campaign as ‘the greatest direct marketing creative of his generation’. In recent years, Steve has become known for more than just his award-winning creative work. He has also challenged the creative industry’s abandonment of its commercial responsibili...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by analyst and adviser to the media, technology and creative industries, Ian Whittaker, who, having gained over 20 years’ experience in the world of finance as an Equity Research analyst (including winning CityAM’s Analyst of the Year… twice), now brings a unique perspective to business in the marketing world through his consultancy Liberty Sky Advisors,...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by ‘that guy thatbuilt that Tony’s brand’ - Arjen Klinkenberg (or ‘Klink’ as he is known) - who created the first Tony’s Chocolonely wrapper design in just 10 minutes and gave up his day job to join the ‘impact-first’ chocolate business as Creative Director and Brand Guru for almost 20 years, before setting up his creative brand consultancy ‘Klink’ earlie...

A special episode of Marketing Room 101, to celebrate the Tony's Chocolonely 8th December advent drama. ⁠Click here⁠ to find out more about the issues of unfairness and exploitation in the chocolate industry.

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by perhaps the friendliest man in advertising - Nick Eagle - the photographer from Sheffield, Yorkshire, whose relaxed and down-to-earth approach has led him to shoot huge campaigns for iconic brands like The BBC, Paddy Power, and Manchester United across the globe. Nick and Ben recall the worst shoot ever and discuss the challenges and joys of the unexpe...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Lindsey Clay, CEO of Thinkbox , the UK’s marketing body for commercial TV, and perhaps the industry’s most passionate voice for the power of television advertising. Before joining Thinkbox, Lindsey worked at some of the UK’s leading agencies including McCann Erickson and JWT, and today she continues to shape the industry as a Fellow of the Marketing So...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by marketing effectiveness and analytics expert Tashan Nichols who works with some of the biggest and most successful brands in the UK as a director at ⁠Magic Numbers⁠ , on top of hosting ⁠Magic Works training courses⁠ , coaching others, supporting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion causes and, of course, winning tonnes of awards (like The Media Leaders Futu...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by author of The Art of Client Service , Robert Solomon, who, over four decades in the marketing industry, has garnered a reputation as world’s leading authority on making better advertising by building stronger relationships with clients. Robert demystifies the often-misunderstood world of client service, outlining what it actually is (including the art...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by underdog advertising’s perennial trouble-maker, Paul Mellor - co-founder of ⁠Mellor & Smith⁠ - the ad agency that gets underdogs noticed. For the past 20 years Paul has helped brands like Paddy Power, Brooks Running, Hotels.com and Fat Lad at the Back get noticed by troubling the market-leading big dogs. Paul and Ben discuss the difference between...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Jordan Stachini, who describes herself as an ROI obsessed marketer who loves a Guinness and doesn’t do ‘fluffy’. Jordan is the owner and founder of ⁠Co&Co⁠ , the agency in Manchester she set-up at 30 years old and just one month before the Covid-19 pandemic stuck. Jordan talks about the journey she’s been on since ‘accidentally’ setting-up an agenc...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by one of the most decorated creative leaders in UK advertising, Mick Mahoney. Mick has led some of the world’s biggest agencies, working with some of the biggest brands from being Creative Director at BBH (including working on Jonnie Walker’s epic ‘ The Man Who Walked Around the World ’) to ECD at Havas Worldwide and Y&R London, then CCO Ogilvy. But...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by the godfather of challenger brands and anti-dullness campaigner, Adam Morgan - who, in 1999, after years as a planner in top agencies (including as Planning Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day) - wrote the international best-selling challenger brand bible Eating the Big Fish and set up the consultancy he still runs today: eatbigfish . Adam and Ben discuss chall...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Louise Tullin, Marketing Director at ⁠55/Redefined⁠ , an organisation dedicated to changing life and work for people over 50 for the better. Louise and Ben tackle the issue of age in marketing and advertising, looking at how and why the over-50s are being ignored and just how big of a problem it is, through to the commercial case, and why brands should...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by the fastest man in advertising, Nick Entwistle, who set-up ⁠One Minute Briefs⁠ in 2012 to encourage a faster, more instinctive approach to creativity. Over a decade later, the OMB community includes tens of thousands of creatives, producing hundreds of thousands of ideas for a huge list of brands, reaching millions of people across the world in the pro...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Dave Harland, probably the funniest person on LinkedIn, and proud writer of copy and creator of personality for brands great and small across the UK for over 20 years. Dave’s career in marketing has seen him work on both sides of the client/agency fence, both as a copywriter and journalist, until more recently setting-up shop as co-founder of ⁠Copy or...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by Global Executive Creative Director (ECD) of Jellyfish , and founder of Good Girls Eat Dinner, Jo Wallace. Having made the move to LA in 2022 after 20 years in some of the UK’s most successful creative businesses, Jo and Ben discuss the differences between life and work in LA and London, why brands need to do the hard work to be single minded to avoid w...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined by a strategist, a speaker, a trainer, an author and a lecturer, which all happen to be the same person. Yes, Kevin Chesters has had some of the most important strategy jobs in the country, like Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Ogilvy and dentsu mcgarrybowen, plus senior roles at W+K and Saatchi & Saatchi and client-side strategy stint at BT. On top of...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Gillian Clarke, a marketer with over 25 years experience working with some of the UK’s most loved FMCG brands, from Fox’s to Wham, Kit-Kat to Quality Street, and most recently Honey Monster cereal. In 2022, Gillian set up strategic consultancy Brave North which promises straight to the point marketing that works in the real world...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Laura Jordan Bambach. Perhaps one of the busiest people in the marketing world, Laura is Founder and Chief Creative Officer at ⁠Uncharted⁠ , Founder of ⁠SheSays⁠ & ⁠Oko⁠ , plus a speaker, author & artist. As one of very few female Chief Creative Officers Laura has bagged almost every award and accolade going, including bei...

In this episode, host Ben Norman is joined in Marketing Room 101 by Nick Asbury, the creative copywriter with a rap sheet including 25 years of work for major brands, writing for Creative Review, Design Week and The Guardian, co-authoring the latest edition of ‘A Smile in the Mind: Witty thinking in graphic design’ and most recently, writing his stand-out book ‘The Road to Hell’, which outlines a...